


Sunset

by Fweeble



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Day 2, M/M, Meiji era AU, Tokyo Ghoul Week, inevitable historical inaccuracies, requited love that is never acted upon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 21:44:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2444264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fweeble/pseuds/Fweeble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaneki Ken visits his old friend Nagachika Hideyoshi for a favor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Moon: unhappiness, fear, anxiety, insecurity
> 
> So much thanks to wisiaden who beta'd this and nitpicked all the issues it had. Love you muchly, dearest. <3 All mistakes you still see are due to my own error. ; u;

The sudden October heatwave takes Edo by surprise, bears down on the citizens, oppressive and insistent. Young women with parasols dot the street, the elderly lie on the veranda armed with fans, children play by the rivers, relishing the cool autumn water. Still, the world continues, and smithies continue to smelt, fish mongers continue to sell, weavers continue to weave.  
  
Kaneki pulls down the brim of his hat, picks up his pace, feels sweat trickle down the back of his neck. He side steps a gaggle of giggling children playing tag, nearly trips over a stray cat.  _Faster_ , he tells himself,  _faster. You’re taking too long._  
  
Finally, he sees the worn sign of  _Nagachika’s Odds and Ends_.  
  
“Hide,” he calls as he slides open the door. Hide had changed the bell he hung over the door, but, otherwise, the shop is the same as it was the last time Kaneki had seen it. He examines the trinkets that line the endless shelves. He picks up a decorative cat, runs his fingers along its grooves and studies the fading paint. “Are you available?”  
  
“I’m in the back,” comes the muffled response.   
  
Kaneki edges his way past the counter overflowing with pocket watches and English pipes, wrestles with the door that  _always sticks_ , and finally finds Hide hunched over his desk.  _Tinkering_ , Kaneki sighs. Hide, so endlessly fascinated by the western world, is constantly collecting strange artifacts, always disassembling and reassembling them.   
   
“Do you have time? I have a favor to ask.”  
  
“Sure, sure.” Hide swivels on his stool and smiles, “What’s up, Kaneki? What do you need?”  
  
“Do you think…” Kaneki hesitates, wonders why he’s wavering now. He braved the sweltering heat, walked across town for this, and it’s  _Hide_. But the words catch in his throat and his heart stutters, “Do you think…you could fix a music box?”  
  
“Probably. Let me take a look at it?” Hide accepts the music box, traces the delicate avian carvings in the polished wood. “This is beautiful. Where did you get it?”  
  
“It’s… not mine…”   
  
“Oh, Touka-chan’s?”  
  
“Yeah…” Kaneki shifts, tries to smile. “It was her mother’s. Her father bought it for her mother for their fourth anniversary since he wasn’t able to buy her a ring when they got married.”  
  
“I see.” Hide whistles as he gently opens the cover.   
  
Kaneki shifts self-consciously as Hide hums, finds himself drawn to the broad slope of the other man’s shoulders, the shift of muscles beneath the ridiculous western clothes the man insists on wearing. Remembers summers they spent together hiding from heat waves like this, the sunny smile of the other boy’s face as they drenched each other by the river. The nights they spent catching fireflies like it was forever, their lives would always be this –the two of them together, laughing.   
  
“How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while. Are you translating anything?”  
  
“Ah… I’m currently working on two novels that Kirishima-sensei had wanted to… before he…”  
  
“Oh.” Hide pauses and looks up from the music box, eyes far away, “It’s been almost a year since then, hasn’t it? This is probably a good idea… having something to remember them would be a comfort for her.”  
  
Shame fills him and Kaneki cannot speak, resists reaching out for the other man and apologizing. He should never have brought it here, should never have asked this of Hide. But before his guilt can overcome him, Hide waves his hand, beckoning Kaneki forward.  
  
“This is going to be tough to fix. Do you see the crack along this doohickey here? This acts like the musical score, so it’s not going to play right unless we get it replaced. And it looks like these two gears are rusted and won’t last much longer.”  
  
Kaneki studies the parts scattered parts, chews on his lip. “So it’s not possible to fix it?”  
  
“No, I think I can. That’s if you don’t mind waiting awhile?” The blond stretches. “I’ll need to see if I can buy something to make a mold for the parts. I have a friend who can probably rush these parts for me if I could give him a mold to work off of.”  
  
“Thank you, Hide.”  
  
“No problem, man. No problem.”  
  
Anxious, Kaneki mutters an excuse –his editors are expecting the finished translation of one of the books soon and he should go. The walls of the tiny room feel as if they are closing in, the air too thick too breathe. His shame consumes him.  
  
“Do you know what the song is?” Hide calls over his shoulder as Kaneki turns away.  
  
“ _Silver Threads Among Gold_ , I am told.”  
  
“ _Love can never more grow old_ ,” Hide sings softly, “ _Love may lose their brown and gold; cheeks may fade and hollow grow, but the hearts that love will know_.”  
  
\--  
  
The gibbous moon hangs in the sky when Kaneki finally visits the Kirishima estate with his package. He waits by the entrance, toys with the handkerchief he wrapped around the warm rosewood.  
  
He thinks of Hide, the other man’s wide smile as he presented Kaneki the fixed treasure, the sweat that poured down the blond’s face as he presented the fixed music box. Hide’s triumphant cry still rings in his ears. “Finished! Just in time, huh? You can present it to her the day before the wedding –talk about romantic, huh?”  
  
And it is.   
  
Everything is just as he planned. He presents Touka with the music box and gently wipes away her tears. He holds her in his arms, runs his hands through her hair and murmurs promises. He caresses her face, leans down for a kiss, feels her fingers link with his.  
  
She is beautiful cloaked in the soft glow of the moon.  
  
\--  
  
“Congratulations, Kaneki!”  
  
“Thank you, Hide.”   
  
Hide throws his arms around Kaneki, squeezes tightly and whispers, “I’m so happy for you,” like a blessing. It rests like a veil of spider webs across Kaneki’s heart. “Thank you,” he croaks back, tears welling. “Thank you for everything. Touka loved her surprise.”  
  
“Great! I’m glad she liked it.” Like always, Hide grins and Kaneki falters. He twists the gold band on his finger, tries to center himself once again.   
  
Touka is beautiful, enchanting under the silver light of the moon, but Hide is radiant, always.  
  
But it’s too late to look back now.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
